A buddy of mine just got a stand alone liberty safe but his wife hates it. So I am thinking that when I get mine, I am going to build walls around it so it is fully hidden.
What are your thoughts?
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A buddy of mine just got a stand alone liberty safe but his wife hates it. So I am thinking that when I get mine, I am going to build walls around it so it is fully hidden.
What are your thoughts?
I thought about doing that in my last house since it was in a basement. Now that I've moved I'm glad I didn't. Mine is now in a closet in a spare bedroom. The bifold doors wouldn't close, so I pulled the spring loaded wheel down and popped the front of the doors out of the track. Now the doors come out several inches and then come together to hide the safe (closed without the fronts of the doors being in the tracks).
If you can hide it, all the better IMO. I know one person who built a vault into a closet. So when you open the closet door you are greeted with the vault door, but from the outside it appears to be a normal closet. He had a rather large home though, 5 bedroom.
When we build our own house, we have plans for a hidden room, and the safe goes in there. We took some plans that we modified and was able to reclaim some wasted space that will be converted into the gun room.
I agree totally. Add some fire-rock to the inside of the enclosure (1.5 to 2" or so) and the door and ceiling (zero clearance to the safe), and you just increased the fire rating. Plus, it makes it hard for a BG to access, and you can disguise it as well. Pour some concrete into the wall voids around it (use metal studs) and you added more fire rating and some real defense.
Plan some extra space, and you have nice storage for ammo too, as well as other goodies.
When we convert the 2 car garage into a master bedroom suite, I will be putting in a 7' x 14' hidden safe room/storm shelter. Eight inch, steel reinforced concrete walls and ceiling.
The space is big enough for the safe, reloading bench, and a nice area for shelving. The basic plans called for a "crawl space". No more crawl space, and since the original space called for concrete walls, it is an easy conversion, just a little bit of extra digging, and some masonry work. If we do it right, a guest can stay in one of the rooms where the entrance can be and they will never know its there. We plan on double layer fire rock on all normally framed portions of the room. The safe itself will be bolted to the concrete floor. Most of the modifications will be done once the contractors are done with the house.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rock and Glock
My wife just commented that we can hide our impossible to find Hostess Twinkies in it as well.
Maybe you could trade your Twinkies for a nice AR.Quote:
Originally Posted by DMan
How do you that think I got my Twinkies?Quote:
Originally Posted by nontechguy
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk 2
Nice.
Another option would be to get a safe and if you think it's ugly, put some sheetrock around it and then frame some trim around it. You can turn it into a bookshelf....
Austin
This is what we did, except we hollowed out under the 3 car garage, makes an 800 square foot vault/storm shelter. 8” poured reinforced walls, with an engineered ceiling, complete with vault door. It’s on its own heating/cooling zone with the geothermal unit. I’m in the process of framing it now. I'll put my current safe inside, so in effect a safe within a safe.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bark'n
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a5/...ps3edf609b.jpg
Chuck
I have a friend who did the same thing with his home build. He did his during the initial build. Did you do your's after the home was already built as a retrofit, or did make it during the initial build?Quote:
Originally Posted by Chuck R.
I considered doing something like that after seeing my friends house, but it would be much more expensive to excavate below the garage. My wife and I are nearing retirement age, and it's just the two of us (plus a couple dogs), so we don't need that much sheltered/vault space. Just large enough to be an above ground tornado shelter and a place for my guns, ammo and some of our long term food reserves.
Sweet :yup:Quote:
Originally Posted by DMan
Bark’n,Quote:
Originally Posted by Bark'n
We had it done as part of the initial build, that’s about the only way to make it cost effective. We were either going to do that, or under the front deck, which is pretty much the norm for new construction around here for a safe room.
The whole deal was about $7K before the framing, electric, vault door etc. The original front porch idea would have been around $3K, so an additional 4 for a whole lot more storage. It did sort of take on a life of its own and ended up larger than we need. Now my friends are comparing it to Burt Gummer’s “Rec Room” in Tremmors. Next “good idea” is to put in a small air rifle range on the 29’ side so my boy can practice.
For what you’re looking for the front porch would suffice easily.
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a5/...unker17OCT.jpg
We've also got dogs......that "good idea" turned into a "Dog Wash" station in the garage.
Chuck